Eyeglass



April 6, 1943. R. F. METZGER '2,316;096

EYEGLASS Filed March 13, 1940 INVENTOR Ram/4e07- F? M67266 ATTORNZY- Patented Apr. 6, 1943 UNITED STATES EYEGLASS t inha flt e zs endale, qnnels l st,

Application March 13, 1940; sed tiv teaser the object of the invention is to provide an mpr v d ar a n ow n a o m n r ing or bracket support for the bow to provide a relatively high arrangement of the shank of the bow. with respect to each lens of a pair of eyeglasses to maintain proper support and relatipnship of the lenses with respect to the eyes, while at thesame time maintaining a straight line extension of the bow shank from the ear to produce a neat and finished appearance, and further whereby the upwardly extending bow may be adjusted to suit difierent relationship of eyes and ears of different users; a turther object being top rovide a structure of the. character'described wherein means is provided to limit outwardswinging movement of the bows while at the. same time providing collapsing of the bows upon the lensesin arranging the same in a carrying case or other support; and with these and other objects in view the invention consists in a device, of. t e a s a d. or t ur s specified; which is simple in construction, efl'icient in use, and which is constructed ashereinafter described and. lai ed- The invention is fully disclosed in the following specification of which the accompanying drawing forms a part, in which the separate parts of my improvement are designated by suitable igeierence characters in each of the views, and in which:

Eig, l is a perspective View showing one end portion oi a pair of eyeglasses illustrating the mounting of one of my improved bows in connection with a lens of the glasses.

2 is a section substantiallycon the line 1-2- of Fig, l on an enlarged scale.

Fig. 3 is. a view looking in the direction of the arrows 3 of Fig, 2, indicating the pivot end of he 29 i t. an h l e Fig. 4 is a section on the broken line 4-4 of Fig. 2'.

Fig. 5 is a sectional view showing a modified form of pivot end construction and Fig. 6 is a horizontal sectional view through the bearing portion of the lens engaging part showing another adaptation of my invention.

In the construction of eyeglasses of the type employing ear supporting loops, which are commonly referred to as bows, it has been the comxnonpractice to provide a hinge or pivotal mountingofthe bow in connectionwith a bracket secured tothe lens or a support for the lens. The

basket su ha a orke ew-Sha e iving a flattened end of th e b OlW hearing ps i v .i v. and, a li q p a Pas es i iqu l the. h ar ng a rie ai sd; n fithab w aQQ Pl -ne the P i together, the 0938i w rld. ha e s m ar a d" im f hin e eetion nrq ins rerlep ne v at met le-n In im tenee. he extends iron}, the ial 1;- nline wi h t e e s: an an l bth? i w e e he owexi s. We! h r. e th e "t in mo er t es '0 eyeglasses oftl ris i, thes 2 i BQH fi Q I EY t seases. i h n he ens s rovi e wha m sfi e term d a tr islhi existfi ,v I t 9W eq the-ear to the point of con act with the eyea s nei her amuse th firwwin d wn ardl a wa the ex m.-

ea jif' V V 3 h w en of illustrating rt i a a a l ate. t ie er tiqa 1 W? ewn in h acc mpany n drawin at: lit Pl t of n l or a pai oi eyeglasses It will-be understoodthat a enses r the. ame a n t and t ct henarts are erersibl Qe' s M H' is shown one of my improved; brackets se- Qured. to he ens nd t. i n 6 imp qw The were. a. he ns ru Shown I r s a lens receiving part 13 consisting 0t innerand outer plates M n-5a l5 joinedat their: Quin; case b a r i ee e '1 which extends eraledge m ofthe lens. The w r tuj therjoined-bya screw l-"lvwhich ss s through the lens i=0 The cross-. 1 extends upwardly and downwardly to form iong'bearings seating upon the edge Ina of the lens" it!" clearly appear i-n-Fig. 3013- the,

drawing.

"Extending from the central portion .of the! member [Q andthe plat-e I4 is an inwardly: e15: tending bearing [8; having a vertical; bore or assage It in which is arranged the downwardly upon a washer 26 which engages the lower surface of the bearing [8.

The enlargement 22 has a projecting finger 21 which projects forwardly when the bow I2 is in the position indicated in Fig. 1.'- The projection El is adapted to strike a stop 23 formed on the plate 14 to limit the outward swinging move: ment of the bow I2, while at the same time permitting the swinging movement of the bow onto the lenses in placing the eyeglasses in a case or other holder. The stop 28 is disposed above and below the bearing 18 so that the bracket H may be used in conjunction with either the right or left ;lens of a pair of glasses. Thus the one bracket will servetwo purposes.

The bow l2 may be of any desired construction as commonly employed in various types and kinds of eyeglasses and composed of any suitable material. Howevenit is preferred that the materialv employed is such that the bend at lZa in the bow between the vertical mounting portion 2| and the rearwardly extending shank portion Zia, may be varied to maintain the desired height of the forward end of the shank 21a with respect to the engagement of the ear portion 21b ofthe bow with theear of the wearer. This construction is provided to maintain the straight posi tioning of the shank Zla of the bow rather than the usual downward inclination of the shank as withlother eyeglasses of this type and kind. It willalso be apparent that in constructing the bows of materials whichare not readily susceptible to bending as at No, the bows may be made in different sizes to adapt the same for different users, the bows being quickly and easily attached and detached with respect to the brackets.

As another feature of my invention, it will be.

apparent that the forward end of the bow or the vertical portion 2| thereof is disposed inwardly of the peripheral edge of the lens, especially as viewed from the front of a pair of eyeglasses. This produces a neat and finished appearance: of the glasses upon the wearer in that the bows are substantially concealed in the straight forward or-front view of the glasses on a wearer. In other wo-rdsfthe bearing portion I8 is substantially within the boundaries of the bracket as will readily appear upona consideration of Fig. 2 of the drawing. I

It willbe understood that any suitable means may be provided for retaining the pivot or't erminal ends of the bows in connection with the bearings to prevent accidental displacement therefrom. In Fig. 5 of thedrawing, one other 7 means is disclosed for accomplishing this result.

36 which is mounted in the bearing Ma. The

rounded or beveledinner end 3611. of the screw operates .in connection with the bevel 29 to hold the surface 23a of the enlargement 22a snugly upon the top of the bearing 13a, whilepermit ting rotation of the bow in the bearing within the limits heretofore referred to. In other words, the structure shown in Fig. 5 is the same as that shown in the other figures with the exception of the different mounting employed for the terminal end 26a.

Aside from producing a novel bearing mounting of a bow in connection with the lens brackets, which amounts to nothing more. or less than a shaft or spindle rotating in a bearing, the bend I211 between the shank Zla and the vertical forward end 2| produces what may be termed a spring or yieldable coupling of the bow with the bracket which eliminates stress or strain upon the lenses in the operation of applying and removing eyeglasses in the use thereof. In other -words, with the conventional form of eyeglass construction of thistype and kind, a substantially rigid and unyielding coupling is provided between the bows and the bracket. Thus all stresses or strains are directly transferred to the eyeglass lens. It will thus be seen that breakage of glasses from'this standpoint will be substantially obviated. It will be apparent that my improved bow construction is adaptable for use in connection with eyeglass mountings of various types and kinds, and the illustrations in the accompanying drawing show what might be termed one adaptation and use of the invention.

From a general standpoint, the invention may be said to comprise the provision of a vertically disposed bowend to control and regulate the height of the forward end of the bow with respect to a suitable mounting or coupling with any suitable means for pivotally supporting the vertically disposed front end of the bow in connection with such mounting or coupling.

In the adaptation of the invention as shown in Fig. 6 of the drawing, I have substituted for the securing means 25 of Fig. 4 and the means 30 of Fig. 5, a spring catch device 3| comprising a flat strip of spring metal, one end of which is soldered or otherwise fixedly secured as at 32' to the bearing portion 33 of vthe lens engaging part 34 which is of the same general construction as the parts shown in the other figures oi the drawing. In other words the part 33 is provided with a vertical aperture35 which receives the terminal end 36 of the how. The terminal end 36 is recessed as seen at 31 within the bearing substantially in the manner shown in Fig. 5 to receive the inwardly directed free end 38 of the catch device 3|. The end 38 is set inwardly from the curved portion of the spring 3! to form a protruding finger piece 39 which will facilitate moving the end 38 out of the recess 31 to permit detachment of the terminal end 36 of outwardly in engaging as well as disengaging the terminal end36. 'The bow will have adjacent the terminal end 36 aprojection to engage the stop 42 on the part 34 as in the other forms of construction shown. "A structure of the type and kind disclosed in-Fig. 6 is desirable from the standpoint that the wearer of the glasses may attach and detach the bows without the aid of screwdrivers or other implements which would be otherwise necessary. By making both bows of the same construction. or in other words, 113V:

me. the bows interchangeable, the replacement oraabow maybe quickly and easily made.

Having fully described my invention, what I claim ,as new and desire to secure :by Letters Patent, is

i1. Ineyeglasses of the class described, alens en aging part, .a bow, said how comprising a horizontal shank portion and-a depending coupling portion'at the forward end of said shank portion, means pivotally supporting the coupling portion in connection with said part to provide swinging movement of the :bow within predetermined limits, and said dependingcoupling portion having a recess extending longitudinally and opening through the end thereof to receive pin like means for retaining saidcoupling portion against accidental displacement from said part.

2. A bow for an eyeglass mounting of the class described, said bow comprising an elongated shank portion having a depending end portion extending substantially at right angles to said shank, said depending end portion having an enlargement dividing the same into a short terminal end and a longer portion coaxial with said terminal end, and means whereby said terminal end may be pivotally secured to said eyeglass mounting, said last named means including a threaded recess extending longitudinally and opening through the extremity of said terminal end.

3. A bow for an eyeglass mounting of the class described, said bow having an elongated shank portion and a depending end portion arranged substantially at right angles to said shank, said end portion having a recess extending longitudinally and opening through the extremity thereof, and said recess being adapted for the reception of pin like means in pivotally securing the bow to said mounting.

4. A bow for an eyeglass mounting of the class described, said bow having an elongated shank portion and a depending end portion arranged substantially at right angles to said shank, said end portion having a recess extending longitudinally and openingthrough the extremity thereof, said recess being adapted for the reception of pin like means in pivotally securing the bow to said mounting, and said end portion having a projection thereon extending in a direction opposed to the direction of said shank and adapted to engage cooperating means on said mounting for limiting the pivotal movement of said bow.

5. A bow mounting for eyeglass lenses, comprising a lens engaging part having a bearing integral therewith, and projecting rearwardly with respect to the plane of a lens supported by said part, said bearing having an aperture extending vertically therethrough, said aperture being arranged substantially in alinement with the portion of said part which engages the pebow, cooperating means on said bow and lens engaging part limiting the extent of said pivotal movement, said first :named .means comprising a threaded recess extending longitudinally of said pintle, and a screw extending upwardlyi'intosaid recess and cooperating with said ibearing :tor drawing the how downwardly with respect thereto.

'6. A bow mountingtor eyeglass lenses, comprisinga lens engaging part-having a .bearingzintegral therewith, and projecting rearwardly with respect to the plane of a lens supported ibyusaid part, said bearing having an aperture extending vertically therethrough, said saperture being'arranged substantially in alinement with the portion of said part which engages the periphery of a lens, a bow having a vertically disposed end cooperating with said bearing, the extremity of said end comprising a pintle extending into the aperture of said bearing and said end having an enlargement adjacent said pintle forming an enlarged annular shoulder substantially conforming to and operatively engaging the upper surface of said bearing, means supporting said enlargement in close engagement with said upper surface thereby retaining said how in ,connection with said lens engaging part while providing free pivotal movement of said bow, cooperating means on said bow and lens engaging part limiting the extent of said pivotal movement, said first named means comprising a threaded recess extending longitudinally of said pintle, a screw extending upwardly into said recess and cooperating with said bearing for drawing the bow downwardly with respect thereto, said second named means comprising a shoulder on said lens engaging part and a cooperating ofiset on the enlargement of said bow end extending in a direction opposed to and in substantial alinement with the main portion of said bow.

7. A bow mounting for eyeglass lenses, comprising a lens engaging part having a bearing integral therewith, and projecting rearwardly with part, said bearing having an aperture extending vertically therethrough, said aperture being arranged substantially in alinement with the portion of said part. which engages the periphery of a lens, a bow having a vertically disposed end cooperating with said bearing, the extremity of said end comprising a pintle extending into the aperture of said bearing and said end having an enlargement adjacent said pintl forming an enlarged annular shoulder substantially conforming to and operatively engaging the upper surface of said bearing, means supporting said enlargement in close engagement with said upper surface thereby retaining said bow in connection with said lens engaging part while providing free pivotal movement of said bow, cooperating means on said bow and lens engaging part limiting the extent of said pivotal movement, said last named means comprising symmetrically arranged portions including shoulders on said lens engaging part above and below said bearing, and a double-faced projection on the enlargement of said bow end in alinement with and in a direction opposed to the main portion of said bow whereby said lens engaging part and bow are each adapted for selective use in either a right or left bow mounting.

8. A bow mounting for eyeglass lenses, comprising a lens engaging part having a bearing integral therewith, and projecting rearwardly with respect to the plane of a lens supported by said part, said bearing having an aperture extending vertically therethrough, said aperture being arranged substantially in alinement with the pertion of said part which engages the periphery of a lens, a bow having a vertically disposed end cooperating with said bearing, the extremity of said end comprising a pintle extending into the aperture of said bearing and said end having an enlargement adjacent said pintle forming an enlarged annular shoulder substantiallyconforming to and operatively engaging the upper surface of said bearing, means supporting said enlargement in close engagement with said upper surface thereby retaining said how in connection with said iens engaging part while providing free pivotal movement of said bow, cooperating means on said bow and lens engaging part limiting the extent of said pivotal movement, said first named means comprising an annular groove on th pintle .of said bow end and a spring member extending through a transverse aperture in said bearing for operative engagement with said groove, said spring member being shaped for clamping engagement with the outer surface of said bearing, and having protruding means facilitating detachment thereof from said bearing.

REINHARDT F. METZGER. 

